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Month Archives: July 2013

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Family Research Council

July 30, 2013

Abigail Rose Beutler’s birth has been met with significantly less fanfare than that of the royal baby, Prince George Alexander Louis Mountbatten-Windsor, but it was every bit as miraculous: Despite being given a prenatal diagnosis generally considered a death sentence, Abigail was born weighing two pounds, 12 ounces at 28 weeks’ gestation and has survived two weeks.

Abigail, the daughter of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), was diagnosed with Potter’s Syndrome in utero. Her condition was characterized by kidney problems, and the resultant total lack of amniotic fluid would normally mean that a baby would be born with underdeveloped lungs. When the strongly pro-life Herrera Beutler announced on her Facebook page that their baby had been diagnosed with Potter’s Syndrome, she stated that “there is no medical solution available to us.”

The Beutlers were told by “multiple doctors” that Abigail’s “condition was incompatible with life and that, if she survived to term, she would be unable to breathe and live only moments after birth. [They] were also told that dialysis or transplant were not possible. The options [they] were offered were termination or ‘expectant management,’ that is, waiting for her to die. Instead, [they] chose to pray earnestly for a miracle.”

After this frightening diagnosis, Herrera Beutler received saline injections into her uterus once a week for five weeks, a therapy called amnioinfusion, atJohnsHopkinsHospital. The saline injections seem to have helped baby Abigail’s lungs “practice,” removed pressure from her head and chest, and allowed her clubbed feet to straighten.

In short, it would appear that the congresswoman and her husband have gotten their miracle. Two weeks ago, Abigail Rose was born with no kidneys but well-formed lungs. She is currently receiving dialysis and will eventually need a kidney transplant, but Huffington Post reports that her doctors are “cautiously optimistic about her future” and that she may be the first child to survive after a diagnosis with Potter’s Syndrome.

Little Abigail’s case should give pause to those who advocate the abortion of unborn children with physical problems. And thanks be to God for this happy ending and beginning!

by
Karah Kruger

July 29, 2013

No Such Thing as ‘Independent’ Voting

Rob Schwarzwalder, Senior Vice President at Family Research Council, wrote an article for Bangor Daily News.U.S. Senator Angus King is registered as Independent. While he claims to work across the aisle, he almost always votes with the Democratic Party. In a recent article, National Journal said he votes 90% of the time with Democrats. Rob used Sen. King as an example of why it is very different for one to be a true independent. He made the following quotes:

“Politics is about the public expression of various points of view and the enactment of those views into law. Increasingly, American politics is divided along conservative and liberal lines. The overlap of commonality between the GOP and the Democratic Party is increasingly small. Thus, as Republicans identify, substantially, as conservatives, and Democrats as liberals or progressives, anyone involved in electoral politics has to be, by virtual if not legal definition, a partisan.”

“The founders of our country warned against partisanship, or what James Madison called “the violence of faction.” In “Federalist Ten,” James Madison asserted that factions would form due largely to the perceived economic self-interest of various groups.”

“That might have been true in the 1780s, but it is no longer. Some of the wealthiest Americans vote most consistently liberal, and many lower-middle income voters support the Republican Party because of its social conservatism.”

“In our time, the divide goes not so much between the wealthy and the poor as between those with one vision of American life and those with another. Deeply held convictions about the role of government, the morality of culture, and the nature of the family cut across economic lines.”

“No man is an island, and no voter is his own party. True partisan independence is exercised only by those so consciously inconsistent that they are uninterested in having their votes actually matter.”

Virtue, Freedom and Redemption

Rob also wrote an article today for Religion Today.His article began by citing the story of British Soldier Dusty Miller, who served during WWII. Miller was held in a Japanese prison camp and later crucified as an attack on his Christian faith. Miller was only capable of kindness towards his captors because of the grace of Jesus. Rob went on to say that man needs to be viewed in the correct way, as both intrinsically valuable, and completely depraved. Rob said the following:

“…without a proper understanding of the nature of man, political action becomes dangerous. If man is viewed as merely material, he will be oppressed. If he is viewed as perfectible, he will be coerced. If he is viewed as unimportant, he will be murdered.”

“For us to keep a free society, we have to govern ourselves, or else the ensuring chaos will produce repression and coercion. Personal self-government begins with virtue, and virtue begins the conscience (“the law written on the heart,” Romans 2:15) and God’s self-revelation in Scripture.”

“Dusty Miller was a man of virtue. He died at a young age because he loved God and loved others. His death came at the hands of a man who hated God and so dehumanized his prisoner that, to him, Miller’s crucifixion was merely a fitting, if brutal, taunt. Men need Christ, culture needs God, and human nature needs redemption – or, in its absence, appropriate temporal restraint. This is what Dusty Miller, decades after his martyrdom, still teaches us.”

Building Stronger Families and Safer Communities

Tony Perkins, FRC President, wrote an article for The Clarion Ledger.Tony is part of the Right on Crime campaign, a conservative project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Prison Fellowship Ministries. A top goal is to keep families together by championing prison sentencing reforms that will be best for the family and defendant, while making sure justice is fully served. Our prisons are full of non-violent criminals, causing Americans taxpayer dollars and overcrowded prisons. Prisons are meant to keep society safe from violent criminals. For those who commit non-violent acts such as drug abuse, what they need is to get their lives straightened out so they can contribute to society and raise their children. Children who do not have their parents in their lives face many difficulties, such as the likelihood that they will drop out of school or engage in delinquent behavior, because they haven’t had a positive example in their lives. Why separate families if there could be a better alternative? Tony had the following words to say:

“One fact we often overlook is that two-thirds of these children’s parents are in prison for nonviolent offenses. Eighty-five percent of female inmates, for example, are serving time for nonviolent crimes, and most of them are mothers. Given incarceration’s impact on families, doesn’t it make more sense to place lower-level offenders under mandatory supervision in the community, allowing them to remain connected to their relatives, gainfully employed and available to parent their children?”

“I am not proposing this approach for all incarcerated parents. Violent and career criminals must be locked up to protect society, and we must also exclude offenders whose crimes endanger their own children, crimes such as manufacturing drugs or engaging in prostitution in the family home. But for many nonviolent offenders, we should do all we can to keep families together while maintaining public safety.”

“We know keeping families together strengthens our society, and when people with addictions get treatment and probation instead of incarceration, they can straighten out their lives, remain in their homes, hold down jobs and be better parents. This not only saves taxpayers money; it preserves family unity as well.”

Military Chaplain Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes (USAF) of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska wrote a piece, “No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains Gave All in World War II” and posted it to his website. Mikey Weinstein, founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation, found the title of Reyes’ piece offensive, and asked Col. Brian Duffy to censor the chaplain. The Colonel adhered to Weinstein’s request and took his article off his website. Weinstein wants further action against Reyes, however, and is calling for a formal punishment. Tony made the following remarks:

(Referring to being punished) “For what - doing his job? Engaging in constitutionally-protected speech? Like it or not, a chaplain’s duties, by definition, are to offer prayer, spiritual guidance, and religious instruction. Whether Duffy punishes Reyes or not, the damage has already been done. As FRC’s executive vice president, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin told Fox News’s Todd Starnes, chaplains across the military are already afraid of carrying out the most basic duties of their job. “In this case, a chaplain has been censored for expressing his beliefs about the role of faith in the lives of service members. … Why do we have chaplains if they aren’t allowed to fulfill that purpose?””

“Thankfully the U.S. House of Representatives is on the verge of passing the Defense Department budget with language inserted to protect troops’ conscience and religious rights. Additionally, over 160,000 Americans have signed a petition to Defense Secretary Hagel, urging him to issue clear policies to protect the religious freedom of our troops. Without such protections, the free speech rights and religious liberties of our nation’s most diligent servants will continue to be trampled.”

by
Krystle Gabele

July 29, 2013

This morning, a news headline came across the wires that caused me to pause for a second, and it was the news that 105 children were freed from the chains of modern day slavery and from being trafficked for sexual acts. USA Today and multiplenewsoutlets shared reports that the FBI had also arrested 150 traffickers or “pimps.”

The FBI conducted the raid, Operation Cross Country, which was a massive nationwide sweep that targeted domestic minor sex trafficking. You can see some of the video below of the operation. This raid was coordinated by federal, state, and local agencies in 76 cities.

“”Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children across America,” said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in a press release. “This operation serves as a reminder that these abhorrent crimes can happen anywhere and that the FBI remains committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and holding the criminals who profit from this exploitation accountable.”

While this is a step in the right direction, there are still traffickers in this country and around the world for those who steal the innocence of women and girls. FRC has published a booklet, “Modern Slavery: How to Fight Human Trafficking In Your Community,” which provides ways to identify human trafficking in your community. Click here to download the booklet and share it with those in your community.

by
Robert Morrison

July 26, 2013

The audience was all agog when the stern visage of the British Army colonel leaned over the podium on Tuesday this week. In that short interregnum between the birth of the royal heir and the naming of the same, there was a buzz of anticipation in Washington. In Washington, no less. The last time we had British Army colonels running about, they were torching the place. That was two hundred years ago, however.

Col. Richard Kemp solemnly addressed the mostly Christian audience, saying: “The Palace has authorized me to say that the first name of the royal baby will be—Prince.” The audience howled.

It was not long before the world knew the eight pound-six ounce baby boy’s name—George Alexander Louis Mountbatten-Windsor. That’s quite a moniker, even for a little monarch-er. And the 101-gun salute that was fired in London to celebrate the arrival of the heir to the throne reminds us all that England is still a very special place.

There was plenty of speculation about the child’s name. Americans really don’t have a stake in that game, since we happily sundered all ties with the British royal family on July 4, 1776. King George III was somewhat forgiving—of John Adams. When the great Founding Father served as our first Minister to the Court of St. James’s (as Britain’s diplomatic capital is officially known), the King welcomed him with about as much grace as one could expect.

But when John Adams made bold to bring his young red-headed friend, Thomas Jefferson, to meet King George, the miffed monarch coldly turned his back on the Virginian. He was unwilling to forget how Mr. Jefferson had labeled him a tyrant in the Declaration of Independence.

Not all Britons have been entranced by the Royal Georges, either. Here’s a bit of nineteenth century doggerel that made the rounds after George IV departed this earth.

George the First was always reckoned

Vile, Viler still was George the Second

And what mortal ever heard

Any good of George the Third?

When from the earth the Fourth descended

God be praised the reign of Georges ended!

The author, Walter Savage Landor, was happy to see them depart. George IV, the end of the line, so to speak, was notorious for his philandering ways. When Napoleon expired in exile, courtiers brought the news to the King. “Sire, your worst enemy has died.” “Has she, by God?” He was speaking of his estranged wife. The people sided with the Queen.

It took some 73 years before England had another George—George V. This time, however, the King was a model of public probity. He and his formidable wife, Queen Mary of Teck, reigned for a quarter century (1910-1936). Through World War I, the the General Strike, the Depression, and the Rise of the Dictators, King George V represented an island of stability in a world of dizzying change.

Near the end of his life, George V glumly predicted his airhead son and heir would not last a year on the throne. As King, Edward VIII didn’t. He jumped at the chance to run off with the exquisitely thin American, Wallis Warfield Simpson.

That brought to the throne his younger brother, the Duke of York. He was known as “Bertie” to his family, but he assumed the name of George VI, as King and Emperor. He was to be the last Emperor of India, too.

George VI was supported by his gracious, warm, and devoted wife, Queen Elizabeth. With their two young daughters—the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret—they made their family the center of their lives. (The famous British luxury liners of the last century—Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth—were named for these great queens.)

The recent Oscar-winning film, The King’s Speech, tells the story of George VI’s heroic efforts to overcome a severe stammer. His speech coach—Sir Lionel Logue—also helped my great college professor of Diplomatic History, Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, to overcome his childhood stammer. Sir John was the official biographer of King George VI. The movie earns its “R” rating by its inclusion of all the “sailor words” used to treat the King’s speech impediment. Sadly, the movie doesn’t hint at George VI’s strong Christian faith.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were heroes of World War II. When Buckingham Palace was hit, Queen Elizabeth defiantly said: “Now we can look the East End in the face.” London’s East End, where there were many slums, had been hardest hit by Nazi bombs. As the Blitz intensified, reporters asked the Queen if the young princesses would be sent to safety in Canada. “They will never leave without me. I will never leave without the King. And the King will never leave.”

What magnificent courage! What a heritage for this newborn Prince George of Cambridge. We can be as Yankee Doodle as ever and as republican as our own great George (Washington) wanted us ever to be. Still, we can welcome this child.

As American poet Carl Sandburg wrote: “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” We believe every one deserves a birth day. And we ask God’s blessing on this child—and all the children.

by
Karah Kruger

July 25, 2013

Military Censors Christian Chaplain, Atheists Call for Punishment

Ken Klukowski, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, wrote an article for Breitbart.com, also picked up by Drudge Report. His article addresses the recent news story about Christian Chaplain Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes, who serves in the Air Force. He wrote an essay which Military Religious Freedom Foundation found offensive against atheists, so they called for his punishment. They were particular upset about his phrase ‘no atheists in foxholes.’ The base commander took his essay down as a result. Ken gave the following remarks:

“Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council—one of the leaders of a new religious liberty coalition for the military—responded, “A chaplain has been censored for expressing his beliefs about the role of faith in the lives of service members… Why do we have chaplains if they aren’t allowed to fulfill that purpose?””

“MRFF is activist Mikey Weinstein’s organization. He called observant Christians “fundamentalist monsters” seeking to impose a “reign of theocratic terror,” and he described sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ as an act of “spiritual rape” that makes believers “enemies of the Constitution” who are committing an act of “sedition and treason” against this nation.”

“The Obama-Hagel Defense Department and Air Force have met with Weinstein and MRFF over a period of four years and recently told Congress that there are no problems with suppressing religious speech in the military. However, because this growing wave of anti-Christian extremism has been exposed to the public, the U.S. House has inserted new religious liberty protections for military members in pending legislation.”

“President Obama threatens to veto the legislation. Reyes’s story makes it more likely that Congress will stand its ground and fight to protect the religious liberty of him and countless others in the military, as those service members continue risking their lives to fight for all Americans.”

Most Europeans—and Americans—Agree with Texas’ Abortion Law

Cathy Ruse, Senior Fellow for Legal Studies at Family Research Council, wrote an article for The Daily Caller. Most Americans agree that late-term abortion needs to be banned, according to every modern poll. In fact, there has always been at least 80% who believe this. France bans abortion after 12 weeks, so there is France along with most of Europe, if not the world, who agrees with recent Texas’ pro-life legislation. Yet the far-left considers legislation opposed to late-term abortion as “extreme”. America disagrees. The majority wants to see stricter abortion laws. Cathy mentioned the following in her article:

“The “pro-choice” fringe is not only fighting public opinion, but science and medicine as well. Ultrasound technology has created the common experience of seeing the first picture of a baby in utero, and there is no mistaking what the image portrays. Medical experts are demonstrating that fetuses can feel pain much earlier in pregnancy than previously thought, a reality that adds a whole new dimension to the abortion debate and was the driving force behind the new Texas law.”

“Most Americans are squeamish about causing any living creature pain. The growing acceptance of the truth about fetal pain gives late-term abortion defenders a tremendous challenge – not only to find ways to obscure the reality that abortion takes a human life, but to find the right words to excuse what we now know is torture.”

by
Krystle Gabele

July 25, 2013

Life is full of ironies, not least of which are some of the expressions we use - why do we need to pay tolls when driving on the “free”-way?

There are others much more serious. In our nation’s military, some Left-wing activists are insisting our men and women in uniform be denied the “freedom of religion” that the Constitution they have sworn to uphold guarantees them.

For example, in May, Coast Guard Rear Admiral William Lee told of his decision to violate the rules preventing him from giving a Bible to a service member who had attempted suicide. That young man is now alive and well thanks to the transforming power of Jesus Christ, which he found through study of the Bible.

Earlier this month, FRC President Tony Perkins and FRC Executive Vice President Jerry Boykin joined Members of Congress and other leaders in releasing FRC’s new study, “A Clear and Present Danger: The Threat to Religious Liberty in the Military.” You can download the study at no cost - here. You will find the many cases of repression it documents disturbing, but that’s exactly why we’re partnering with U.S. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and himself a veteran, to enact legislation that protects religious liberty for those who defend our country.

From the earliest days of our Republic, those who have served to keep us free and secure have called on God for help, courage, and protection. He still hears their calls. Do we?

by
Robert Morrison

July 24, 2013

There were quizzical looks as the speaker brought greetings to several thousand Evangelical Christians gathered in the nation’s sweltering capital this week. Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau solemnly greeted the attendees, “To all of you here in Washington, D.C., I bring a message from Jerusalem, D.C.” Jerusalem, D.C.? Then, he intoned, Jerusalem, David’s Capital. That emphasis was clearly needed. It reminds all of us why Jerusalem must never be divided again.

And it would be a good pointer for our own State Department. There, President Obama’s appointee, Victoria Nuland, recently danced around the question of whether Jerusalem is the capital of Israel or not. (Nuland might consider trying out for the 2016 Olympics. She’d be sure to win a Gold Medal for Ice Dancing with this cold, mechanical performance.)

Minister Landau has spoken of the pre-1967 borders of Israel as “Auschwitzlines.” He means that it would not be possible for the Jewish state to defend itself if forced to live within those constricted borders. And that’s exactly what Israel’s enemies want.

We who gathered in the Washington Convention Centerwere happy to hear Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He came to us via satellite link from Jerusalem. He thanks the 1.4 million members of CUFI—Christians United For Israel—for their constant support. And he referenced the colorful banners we saw displayed throughout the halls.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. [Isaiah 62:1]

The Prime Minister spoke directly to these supporters. He has the capacity to around State Department paper shufflers and dissemblers. He described the scene we should recognize in the Bloody Crescent we call the Mideast.

“From the shores of the Atlantic to the northern regions of India, we see a sea of turmoil. Israelis the only beacon of light and hope in the region.” As speaker after speaker reminded us, Israelis the only country where the Christian population is expanding, and where Jews, Christians, and Muslims have religious freedom.

“Israelis the best partner of the United States,” the Prime Minister continued. What was interesting about this video presentation was its sobriety. Benjamin Netanyahu smiled only when he spoke of his son, once his student, now his Bible teacher. “We read the Bible,” he said, “it tells the Truth for all mankind.”

He averted to the conflict in Syria, where internecine warfare between Alawites, Shiites and Sunni, Druze and Kurds has left Christians in the crossfire. But he did not call for U.S. or Israeli intervention in that civil war. His comments about Syria—whose fate seems to mesmerize some Washington politicians of both parties—seemed intended to show us the kind of neighbors with which Israel must deal on a day-to-day basis.

Then, he turned to Iran. Many Western journalists are convinced that the election of Hassan Rouhani as president will mark a major new departure for the Islamic Republic. But Rouhani has boasted of how he hoodwinked Western arms inspectors when he wasIran’s nuclear negotiator. Rouhani is the tool ofIran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks with an air of authority. He is not one to get excited about the Arab Spring or the Iranian “elections.” He doesn’t think it is so important when Tehran’s organ grinder changes out monkeys.

“One way or another, Iran will be stopped,” he says with grim resolution. “We are capable of defending ourselves. We will guard our country. We will protect the Jewish people’s future.”

In my lifetime, I can remember only one such American ally. Only in 1982, when British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent a war fleet to the South Atlantic to take back the Falkland Islands did we see seen such courage, such determination. The Argentine military junta had seized the islands and was set upon suppressing the British population there. Britain might still be a Britain without the Falklands. But she would no longer be Great Britain. Asked if Britain might lose to the Argentines, Mrs. Thatcher echoed Queen Victoria: “The possibility of defeat does not exist.”

If Mrs. Thatcher could show such resolve defending an obscure, distant group of windswept, rocky islands—with more sheep than people—then how much more can we expect the Israelis to defend their very homeland? The Jewish people got a second chance after Hitler’s Holocaust sought to annihilate them. Israelis that second chance.

Anyone who doubts their determination has only to meet the three young Israeli Defense Force (IDF) officers who gave a briefing. With crisp, military precision, they described their duties. They told what it is like to live in a town where a young mother hears an air raid siren. She knows she has just 15 seconds to stop the car, get her little children out of their car seats, and shelter them in one of the roadside cylinders seen everywhere. Just 15 seconds before a Hamas or Hezbollah rocket slams into her town. Our IDF briefers know that it is this young Israeli mother they serve. It is she and her children whose lives they cherish and protect.

Sec. of State John Kerry wants Benjamin Netanyahu to sit down and negotiate with the kind of people who send those thousands of rockets into Israel, firing indiscriminately. How much more territory can he be pressured into giving up? The formula for forty years has been “Land for Peace.” Israel gave up the land—Sinai, Gaza, the Southern Lebanon security zone, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. And where is the peace?

British Col. Richard Kemp, who commanded his nation’s forces in Afghanistan, spoke of Gen. Orde Wingate, the Evangelical Christian who trained Israel’s armed forces even before there was a State of Israel. Col. Kemp quoted Israel’s famous one-eyed war hero, Gen. Moshe Dayan, who said “Wingate taught us everything.”

Today, said Col. Kemp, the Israelis are teaching us everything. Amen to that. I only hope our American leaders will learn in time.

by
Karah Kruger

July 24, 2013

San Diego Clerk Sues Over Gay Marriage

Ken Klukowski, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty, wrote an article for Breitbart.com. San Diego County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg has petitioned the California Supreme Court to not give out marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in order to further confirm that California law declares marriage as one man and one woman. The only court that had jurisdiction to determine whether Prop 8 violates the Constitution was the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where homosexual Judge Vaughn Walker decided it did. It is unclear whether he had the authority to do so because there was only one county clerk named as a defendant in Hollingsworth v. Perry. Ken made the following statements:

“…the California Supreme Court is solidly liberal, and became more so after Brown appointed ultra-left Goodwin Liu to the court. And the reason Prop 8 was passed in 2008 is because this same court struck down California’s previous traditional-marriage law as unconstitutional.”

“His (Dronenburg) oath of office presumably includes obeying the Constitution of the United States and the California Constitution. The former is silent on marriage (given that there is no federal ruling on the question as far as he is concerned), and the latter says marriage is only one man with one woman. He should be on firm legal footing.”

“Then gay couples would sue him, and he could defend himself all the way to the California Supreme Court. Where, of course, the outcome might be the same.”

Court Rules For Hobby Lobby in HHS Mandate Case, Supreme Court Next?

Ken Klukowski, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty, wrote an article for Breitbart.com about the recent court victory for Hobby Lobby. There have been two major victories for Hobby Lobby. The first happened on June 27th. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided that the HHS Mandate violates the Religious Restoration Act and places a burden on corporations whose owners and operators hold to religious beliefs. Last Friday, the U.S. Oklahoma district court gave a temporary exemption for Hobby Lobby to refuse the mandate without penalty until they have time to fully rule on the preliminary injunction. Ken gave further explanation:

“This is a black eye for the Obama administration and could lead additional federal courts to similarly block the HHS Mandate. (As we’ve written, some already have.) The Justice Department likely has no choice but to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case at this time, rather than waiting until the case goes all the way to final judgment in the district court and on appeal, which could easily take at least another full year.”

“The problem for the administration is that there are very likely five votes on the Supreme Court to hold that the HHS Mandate violates RFRA, in which case the mandate will be struck down nationwide.”

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Rolling Stone Crime and Punishment

Bob Morrison, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, wrote an article for the Christian Post comparing the glamorization of history’s criminals by media to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused of bombing the Boston Marathon back in April. Bob is referencing the August edition of Rolling Stone magazine, featuring on its cover the picture of the Boston Marathon bomber. It is a direct insult on those who were affected by the terrorist attack, and other news outlets, like CVS, are acknowledging that by refusing to carry the issue. This is not the first time attention is drawn to the attacker. During World War II, TIMEmagazine featured Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin on their covers, even naming them ‘Man of the Year.’ Bob had the following to say about this pattern seen throughout history:

“So, will TIME nominate Dzhokhar Tsarnaev their 2013 “Person of the Year”? Rolling Stone, in effect, has already scooped them. The key to all of our efforts to understand the motives of great criminals may have been given to us before Hitler, Stalin, or even Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, ever drew a breath.”

“In 19th century Russia, novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment. In it, a hungry former university student in Petersburg, one Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, realizes that even the great conqueror Napoleon had to start somewhere on the trail of gloire and gore. Young Raskolnikov rationalizes that he should kill a grasping, greedy pawnbroker, an old woman. He has a right to do it, he fantasizes, for he is an extraordinary man.”

“What are we supposed to learn from Rolling Stone today-or TIME in 1938 and 1943-that we couldn’t have learned from the great Russian novelist? And why must we keep learning these lessons year after year?”

by
Rob Schwarzwalder

July 23, 2013

Layla M. Giardina was born on July 11, 2013 to Crystal and Robert Giardina of Brooklyn, New York. Layla came into the world at the Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island.

A baby boy was born to William Mountbatten-Windsor and his wife, Kate Middleton, yesterday in London. The little guy left the hospital today in the company of his rightfully joyful parents.

In February, a nine year-old in Guadalajara, Mexico had a baby girl, apparently by her 17 year-old boyfriend.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation estimates that 40 percent of its country’s millions of prostitutes (Human Rights Watch estimates the number to be as high as 15 million) are children.

No one can help but be glad for Kate and William. But are not the thousand of children born this month into squalor, oppression, and hopelessness or, for that matter, into middle income prosperity in the American Midwest or the crowded suburbs of Sao Paulo or the tropical heat of Sumatra just as precious in the sight of God as the newborn prince?

All men are created equal: Abraham Lincoln asserted that this was the “central idea” of the American Republic. Gawking at newborn “royalty” has the appeal of all that is glitteringly shallow. He is precious in God’s sight, but no more than the other roughly 215,000 babies born on July 22, 2013. Do we rejoice with their parents? Are we grateful for their lives? Can we celebrate their Creator’s kindness in presenting them to the world?

by
Karah Kruger

July 23, 2013

Human Sexuality and the God of the Bible

Rob Schwarzwalder, Senior Vice President of Family Research Council, wrote an article published in Religion Today. He wrote about what true sexuality and marriage look like, as a way of combating the perversion and lies that have attacked what God created. He, along with other leading Christians, offered comments about God-designed marriage and sexuality:

“Want to be truly countercultural? Love God. Love your spouse. Love your children. Be loyal to them. Die to your own selfishness. Stand for marriage as it is taught in the Bible. Model servanthood.”

“You’ll be thought, by some, at least, odd, old-fashioned, and out-of-date. That’s OK; you’ll be content. Not a bad thing, that.”

“Christians must not go with the flow. They must instead love the advocates of same-sex marriage better than they love themselves precisely by refusing to endorse it” (Jonathan Leeman).

“ … Each man is a part of thehuman race, and humannature is something social, and has for a great and natural good, the power also of friendship; on this account God willed to create all men out of one, in order that they might be held in their society not only by likeness of kind, but also by bond of kindred. Therefore the first natural bond of human society is man and wife. Nor did God create these each by himself, and join them together as alien by birth: but He created the one out of the other, setting a sign also of the power of the union in the side, whence she was drawn, was formed. For they are joined one to another side by side, who walk together, and look together whither they walk” (Augustine of Hippo, “Of the Good of Marriage”).

Why Pay Clintons Top Dollar for No Answers on Jerusalem?

Ken Blackwell, Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment, along with Bob Morrison, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, wrote an article for Townhall. Ken and Bob found that the Clintons are paid up to $500,000 for a speech. If they can be paid that much, how much is it to ask for them to give the American people the answers they want, and in this case, why they decided to divide part of Israel and give it to terrorist Yasser Arafat? Ken and Bob had this to say:

“What happened to Jerusalem the last time Jerusalem was divided? In the thousands of years that Jerusalem has been regarded as the Holy City, it was formally divided only for a brief period, 1948-1967. Then, the neighboring Jordanians occupied the Eastern part of the city. Jews were forbidden to approach the Western Wall, their holiest place. Their cemeteries—some going back a thousand years—were used for latrines. Their grave markers were uprooted and carted away for paving stones. Christians’ access was severely limited, too.”

“If Jordan, widely regarded as a moderate Hashemite monarchy, could so treat East Jerusalem, how would Palestinian militants treat it? Look to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to learn how.”

“This is why Jerusalem—regardless of what timid, droning Obama State Department apparatchiks keep saying—must never again be divided…”

The Obamacare ‘Jam Rule’

Ken Blackwell, Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment, wrote an article for World Magazine. Obamacare, the President’s ‘signature piece of legislation’ has been labeled a ‘train wreck’ according to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Many of the law’s backers are now turning their back on it, knowing how disastrous it is to America. President Nixon was impeached on the basis of lawlessness, all too similar to Obama. He’s not too concerned about fulfilling his duties since doesn’t have another term to worry about campaigning for, and knows he won’t get impeached, since Republicans couldn’t pull off the impeachment of Clinton when the GOP had majority in both the House and Senate. Ken had the following to say:

“I cannot honestly say I oppose delaying Obamacare’s employer mandate. But I believe it is the responsibility of Congress to change the laws, not something this president (or any president) should do by fiat. Surely, if corporations can get a year’s reprieve from Obamacare regulations, then the average Joe and Jane deserve a yearlong respite, too. Most of those corporations have accounting departments that can help them cope with the train wreck they so narrowly averted. I thought liberals cared about ‘the little guys.’”

“The whole Obamacare fiasco has an Alice in Wonderland quality to it. It was a great achievement in the past. It is something great to be anticipated in the future. But no one seems to want it right now. Instead of “train wreck,” maybe we should call it the Obamacare Jam Rule. In Alice’s amazing world behind the looking glass, it was always “jam yesterday and jam tomorrow, but never jam today.” If we don’t repeal this thing, we will all be in a jam.”

Letter: Religious Freedom Threatened in Military

Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council, wrote a letter to the editor published in the Baton Rouge Advocate.After FRC’s news conference addressing the attack on religious liberty in the military on July 9, there were articles released throughout the media that discredited what was said at our conference. Some reporters claimed that our concerns were false, and that the hostility against those of faith in our armed forces was not that bad. Those who are experiencing the persecution feel differently. In his article, Tony mentions a story of Rear Admiral William Lee, who was told he ‘crossed the line’ when he gave a Bible to a Coast Guardsman who had attempted suicide.

“Just a few weeks after Adm. Lee told of the restrictions and threats military members face if they simply share the hope they have found in following Jesus Christ, I met the young man who survived the self-inflicted gunshot to the head. His outlook on life has totally changed. He has hope, he has purpose and he has a future because someone crossed a line that should never have been drawn.”